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Christian Messa Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences dean
pledges to establish scholarship GALVESTON, Texas — Dr. Cary W. Cooper, dean of the University of Texas Medical Branch’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and his wife, Kay, have pledged to establish a scholarship that will reward some of the graduate school’s most talented students. The Cary and Kay Cooper Endowed Scholarship will be given to outstanding graduate students who will become leaders among future generations of biomedical researchers. Cary Cooper said the scholarship pays tribute to those who helped the Coopers finish college by providing scholarship support to the next generation. “Coming from modest means, Kay and I both were fortunate to attend excellent schools of higher education,” said Cooper, who is also a professor in UTMB’s Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology. “We were helped in terms of financial aid, including scholarships, by those who went before us. This is our way of saying ‘thanks’ and helping students in the same way we were helped.” The Coopers’ commitment will support UTMB’s Family Matters campaign. The five-year, $25 million initiative enables university employees and retirees to financially contribute to an area that may hold personal significance within the academic health center’s educational, clinical or research programs. Cary Cooper is a member of the Family Matters Campaign Planning Committee. Family Matters is part of the university’s Timeless Values, Pioneering Solutions campaign, a five-year, $250 million fund-raising initiative to enhance areas of excellence in teaching the art and science of health care; infectious diseases, biodefense and vaccine development; health care access and telehealth; and longevity, chronic diseases and neurological recovery. UTMB President John D. Stobo thanked the Coopers for supporting the graduate school’s students. “Student scholarships are among the most important ways we can help secure a bright future for the health sciences in Texas, because they help ensure that our most promising students can realize their aspirations to better the health of society,” he said. “I sincerely appreciate the Coopers’ investment in that future and in UTMB through this contribution.” A native of Camden, Maine, Cary Cooper received his bachelor’s degree from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, in 1961 and his doctorate in physiology from Rice University four years later. He completed his postdoctoral training in pharmacology at Harvard University Medical School and the University of North Carolina Medical School at Chapel Hill. Cooper joined the Department of Pharmacology faculty at the UNC Medical School as an instructor in 1968 and rose to the rank of professor in 1977. Five years later, he accepted positions at UTMB as professor and chairman of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, maintaining the chairmanship until 1996. Kay Cooper is a native of Bryan, Texas, and a graduate of Rice University, where she received her bachelor of science degree. She also earned a master’s degree in cell biology at UNC-Chapel Hill. After moving to Galveston, she worked in UTMB’s Marine Biomedical Institute and in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology until 1990. Cary Cooper became the interim dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in 1994 and was appointed dean in 1996. He has taught courses in both the graduate school’s Pharmacology Graduate Training Program and in the School of Medicine. Cooper is also a member of the scientific staff of the Shriners Hospital for Children–Galveston. He holds memberships in the Endocrine Society, American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, International Bone and Mineral Society, American Physiological Society and has served on several editorial boards, including currently the editorial board of the journal Endocrine. Cooper has authored or co-authored more than 180 scientific articles in numerous scientific journals, with his primary research involving bone and gut hormones and growth factors. Cary and Kay Cooper are members of the President’s Cabinet, a volunteer organization that provides financial resources to help advance the mission of UTMB. Longtime supporters of the academic health center, they have given to such programs and initiatives as the School of Medicine Annual Fund, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Scholarship Fund and Dr. J. Palmer Saunders Graduate School Fund, named for the school’s first full-time dean. UTMB |
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